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Merlyn A. Petrick July9, 1923 - Feb. 9, 2009

The service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Holloway. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Zniewski Funeral Home in Benson and for one hour prior to the service at the church.

He was born July 9, 1923, in rural Fairfield Township, Swift County, to Christ and Emma (Carstens) Petrick. He grew up on a farm north of Danvers and attended school in District 83 through the eighth grade. He started playing music at an early age and the family band played for house parties throughout the area. The band evolved into the Merle Petrick Orchestra and played in ballrooms throughout western Minnesota and eastern South Dakota.

He married Phyllis Schmidt on May 12, 1946, in Holloway. They lived near Holloway for seven years until moving to Danvers in 1953. They farmed in Marysland Township, Swift County, until 1985. In 2000, they moved into Benson.